The architecture of miracle- working statues in the Southern … · histories reframed older legends and myths of origin in a histo-rical discourse.6 They often carried illustrations

Revue de l’his toire de s r eli gions, 232 – 2/2015, p. 211 à 256

MAARTEN DELBEKE

Universiteit Gent / Universiteit Leiden

LOBKE GEURS

Universiteit Gent

LISE CONSTANT

Universiteit Gent / Université catholique de Louvain

ANNELIES STAESSEN

Universiteit Gent

The architecture of miracle- working statues in the Southern Netherlands

In the 17th century, the Southern Netherlands saw the erection or restoration of numerous sanctuaries dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In many cases, they housed a miracle- working statue. This essay analyzes the architecture of these sanctuaries through the histories that were written about their statues. It examines how the history of the statues, as recorded in contemporary textual and visual sources, represents and interprets their material surroundings, including the architecture, in order to understand how the statues were thought to relate to these surroundings. Three types of historical narratives are distinguished, each explaining the presence and actions of a statue on its site. These three types will, in turn, shed light on the characteristics and development of the material surroundings of the miracle- working s tatues.

L’architecture des statues miraculeuses dans les Pays- Bas méridionaux

Au XVIIe siècle, les Pays- Bas méridionaux voient la construction ou la restauration de nombreux sanctuaires dédiés à la Vierge qui, pour la plupart, abritent une statue miraculeuse. Cet essai analyse l’architecture de ces sanctuaires à partir des récits écrits sur ces statues. Il examine comment l’histoire des statues, enregistrée dans les sources textuelles et iconographiques contemporaines, représente et interprète leur environnement matériel, incluant l’architecture, afi n de comprendre le lien que ces statues étaient supposées entretenir avec ce cadre. Trois types de récits sont distingués, chacun expliquant la présence et les actions d’une statue sur son site. À tour de rôle, ces trois types mettront en lumière les caractéristiques et le développement de l’environnement matériel des images miraculeuses.

INTRODUCTION

Like other European regions implicated in confessional strife and

bordering Protestant territories, the Southern Netherlands laid claim

to a dense network of miraculous manifestations of the Virgin Mary,

considered a protection and a guarantee for the eventual redemption

of the land. The distribution of miracle- working statues, the tangible

residue of Mary’s special presence, established a regional Marian

topography.1 As publications like Wilhelm Gumppenberg’s Atlas Marianus (1657) testify, this local topography formed part of an

ultimately global network of images, statues and shrines, believed

to direct divine grace to particular places and to foster devotion.

Regardless of their exact provenance, at a certain point in their

history the numerous statues required shelter: either to protect

them from the elements or from heretics as well as all- too- eager

worshippers; to signal their presence in the landscape; to collect

gifts and votive offerings; and to organize and accommodate

cult and pilgrimage. Historians of architecture have long been

interested in the centrally planned churches that developed from

the Quattrocento onwards as the privileged typology for housing

miraculous representations of Mary.2 Studies on Central European

Research for this article was made possible by a project grant from the F.W.O. – Research Foundation Flanders. It is based on an extensive survey of shrines of miracle- working statues of the Virgin executed by Lise Constant, Lobke Geurs and Annelies Staessen under the direction of Maarten Delbeke.

1. Annick Delfosse, La “Protectrice du Païs- Bas”. Stratégies politiques et fi gures de la Vierge dans les Pays- Bas espagnols, Turnhout, Brepols, 2009.

2. Wolfgang Lotz, “Notizen zum kirchlichen Zentralbau der Renaissance”, Studien zur Toskanischen Kunst (Festschrift L.H. Heydenreich), ed. Wolfgang Lotz and Lise Lotte Möller, München, Prestel, 1964, p. 157-165; Georg Mörsch, Der Zentralbaugedanke im Belgischen Kirchenbau des 17. Jahrhundert, Diss., Rheinische Friedrich- Wilhelms Universität, Bonn, 1965; Staale Sinding- Larsen, “Some functional and iconographical aspects of the centralized church in the Italian Renaissance”, Acta ad archaeologiam et artium historiam pertinentia, 2, 1965, p. 203-252; Claudia Conforti, “Cupole, chiese a pianta centrale e culto mariano nel Rinascimento italiano”, Lo specchio del cielo: forme signifi cati tecniche e funzioni della cupola dal Pantheon al Novecento, ed. Claudia Conforti, Milan, Electa, 1997, p. 67-85; Paul Davies, “La santità del luogo e la chiesa a pianta centrale nel Quattro e primo Cinquecento”, La chiesa a pianta centrale. Tempio civico del Rinascimento, ed. Bruno Adorni, Milan, Electa, 2002, p. 27-35 as well as Davies’ important studies of pilgrimage churches; Erik Thunø, “The miraculous image and

THE ARCHITECTURE OF MIRACLE- WORKING STATUES 213

religious architecture have explored how the veneration of miracle-

working statues inspired experiments with central ground plans,3

as did Joris Snaet in his foundational study of a series of Marian

churches in the 17th century Low Countries.4

In this essay, we propose to analyze the architecture of Marian

chapels and churches by taking the miracle- working statues of the

Virgin and their history as our starting point. We examine how

the history of statues recorded in contemporary textual and visual

documents represents and interprets their material surroundings,

including the architecture, in order to understand how the statues

were thought to relate to these surroundings. This analysis allows

us to investigate how the design of these surroundings refl ects

contemporary ideas about the statues, their nature and their

meaning.

In the wake of the Catholic re- conquest of the Southern Nether-

lands territories from the late 16th century onwards, the rapid spread

of the cult of miracle- working statues and the restoration or rebuil-

ding of churches, as well as the installation of sacred images, were

supported by an important body of historiography.5 Numerous

histories reframed older legends and myths of origin in a histo-

rical discourse.6 They often carried illustrations and were aimed

the centralized church Santa Maria della Consolazione in Todi”, The Miraculous Image in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, ed. Erik Thunø and Gerhard Wolf, Rome, L’erma di Bretschneider (“Analecta Romana Instituti Danici”, Suppl. xxxv), 2004, p. 29-56.

3. Pierre Charpentrat, Du maître d’ouvrage au maître d’œuvre, l’architecture religieuse en Allemagne du Sud, de la guerre de Trente Ans à l’Aufklärung, Paris, Klincksieck, 1974.

4. Joris Snaet, “For the Greater Glory of God. Religious Architecture in the Low Countries 1560-1700”, Unity and Discontinuity. Architectural Relations between the Southern and the Northern Low Countries 1530-1700, ed. Krista De Jonge and Konrad Ottenheym, Turnhout, Brepols, 2007, p. 293–297. See also Krista De Jonge, “Aux frontières du monde catholique. Églises de plan centré dans les Pays- Bas méridionaux au xviie siècle”, L’architecture religieuse européenne au temps des Réformes: héritage de la Renaissance et nouvelles problématiques, ed. Monique Chatenet and Claude Mignot, Paris, Picard, 2009, p. 79-89.

5. See A. Delfosse, La “Protectrice du Païs- Bas”, p. 25-54.6. On this body of myths, see Conrad Rudolph, “Building- Miracles as Artistic

Justifi cation in the Early and Mid- Twelfth Century”, Radical Art History: Internationale Anthologie, ed. Kersten Wolfgang, Zürich, Zürich Interpublishers, 1997, p. 398-410; Jules Pieters, “Een paar motieven uit Oostvlaamse bouwlegenden”, Volkskunde, 2, 1956, p. 1-13. See also Ingmar Reesing and Michael Hoyle, “Notre- Dame de Foy: The Reuse and Dissemination of a Late

214 DELBEKE, CONSTANT, GEURS, STAESSEN

at a general audience. Most were written by priests or dignitaries

who drew upon local archives and traditions as well as on the more

learned accounts provided by historians such as Petrus Canisius

and Ferreolus Locrius (Ferry de Locre), who published universal

histories of the cult of the Virgin, De Maria Virgine (1577) and

Maria Augusta virgo Deipara (1608).7 From these treatises, lear-

ned references and tropes trickled into the often vernacular miracle

books, where they shaped the discourse on all aspects of miracu-

lous images, including their appropriate veneration and accommo-

dation.8 The literary accounts helped to establish an iconography of

the history of the statues, while existing iconography inspired the

historiography.9

The accounts are replete with conventions that are not necessarily

peculiar to miracle- working statues of Mary, the 17th century or

the Southern Netherlands. Without exception, they explain how

the cult of the statue began, often by examining the origin of the

statue itself: the place where it was found, the paths by which it

emerged, or the miraculous event that signaled its existence. In

many cases, the cult is framed in the larger history of the veneration

of the Virgin, and connected with well- known miracle- working

images venerated in other geographical areas. The histories trace

a narrative from these origins to contemporary times and local

places. By listing interventions in the surroundings of the statue,

identifying donors, and relating how the statue performed in its

Medieval Figurine of the Virgin in the Low Countries”, Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, 33, 3, 2007/2008, p. 145-165.

7. A. Delfosse, La “Protectrice du Païs- Bas”, p. 39-40.8. On these histories, see, besides the literature quoted in the previous notes:

Alfons K. L. Thijs, Antwerpen, Internationaal uitgeverscentrum van devotieprenten, 17de- 18de eeuw, Louvain, Peeters, 1993; Idem, “Over bedevaarten in Vlaanderen : van stichtelijke propaganda naar wetenschappelijke interesse”, Volkskunde. Tijdschrift voor de studie van het volksleven, 97, 3, 1996, p. 272-349; Ralph Dekoninck, “Défense et illustration du culte de Notre- Dame de Foy. L’Abrégé de l’histoire de Notre- Dame de Foy de Louis Lipsin (1734)”, Annales de la société archéologique de Namur, 83, 2009, p. 205-213; Annick Delfosse, “La Vierge comme protectrice des Pays- Bas méridionaux dans les livrets de pèlerinage marial au xviie siècle”, Revue belge de philologie et d’histoire, 80, 4, 2002, p. 1225-1241.

9. For example, in his account of the history of the “Goede Bijstand” church in Brussels, Van Tichelen points out that the statuette, wrapped in cloth and found by the caretaker, originally came from another place of worship, where it was known as “Our Lady in the Vineyard”. The image still carries grapes in one hand as a reminder of this history. See Joseph Van Tichelen, À l’Ombre d’un Vieux Sanctuaire, Brasschaat, De Bièvre, 1925, p. 28-29.


environment, they aimed to account for the state of the statue’s

material surroundings at the time of their publication.

In this essay, we intend to demonstrate how these accounts

provide a valuable starting point for the analysis and interpretation

of the material context of miracle- working statues. First, we

present a typology of historical accounts of miracle- working

statues. While the accounts are highly conventional, closer

analysis reveals distinct narrative strategies that serve to explain

how a statue emerges, fi nds a place, and becomes an object

of devotion. Each account attempts to elucidate how Mary’s

presence, embodied in a statue, became anchored in a particular

place, at a particular moment in history. We will distinguish three

different types of narratives, each explaining the presence and

actions of a statue on its site in the present. Then we will ask

whether and how these three types of narratives contribute to

our understanding of the material surroundings of the miracle-

working statues. To do so, we will fi rst distinguish a set of themes

that occur across the three types of narrative and offer indications

about the characteristics of the statue’s surroundings, and then

focus on characteristics that are specifi c to each type of narrative.

In the fi nal section, we will briefl y discuss how our method

sheds light on the role of these shrines in the religiosity of the

17th century Southern Netherlands.

In order to manage the signifi cant amount of miracle- working

statues and their histories across the Low Countries, the cases have

been limited largely to the Duchy of Brabant in the 17th century.

Augustinus Wichmans’ Brabantia Mariana (1632), a history of

sixty- six Marian shrines preceded by a history of the cult of the

Virgin, has provided the geographical starting point for our research.10

We have expanded the set provided by Wichmans by incorporating

10. Wichmans’ inventory contains a dozen of Marian shrines in Northern Brabant, in the area of ‘s- Hertogenbosch (Bois- le- Duc), which fell under protestant control after 1629. While our research deals mainly with shrines of Southern Brabant, an overview of these northern places of worship, their stories, related material culture and sources, can be found in the online database “Shrines and Pilgrimage in the Netherlands” of the Meertens Instituut (KNAW): www.meertens.knaw.nl/bedevaart/. On Catholic pilgrimages in the Netherlands, see Marc Wingens, Over de grens : de bedevaart van katholieke Nederlanders in de zeventiende en achttiende eeuw, Nijmegen, SUN (“Memoria: cultuur- en mentaliteithistorische studies over de Nederlanden”, 2), 1994.


information from later Marian historiography.11 Where appropriate,

we have examined cults outside Brabant, to gauge, for instance, the

role of the Norbertines or Premonstratensians in the promotion of

the cult of the Virgin, as a case study of how religious orders might

establish or reinforce networks of miracle- working statues and their

shrines. The historiographical survey determined the selection of

sanctuaries that would be examined, and served as a fi rst guide for

identifying material, visual and textual sources about the material

surroundings of the statue, its history, and its representation.12 This

selection is not aimed at proving the peculiarity of the cult of Mary

and her miracle- working statues in our area of study: quite the

contrary. As pointed out, and discussed in an important body of

scholarship, the cult of Mary and the devotion to miracle- working

statues developed across the global Catholic sphere of infl uence,

and was supported by powerful patrons such as the Spanish and

Austrian Habsburgs as well as the French monarchy or the Roman

papacy.13 By examining a fragment of this phenomenon, we wish

to propose an approach to the study of the architecture for miracle-

working statues that can be tested in other geographical contexts as

well.

11. Abbé H. Maho, La Belgique à Marie. Belgium Marianum. Répertoire historique et descriptif des Églises, Sanctuaires, Chapelles et Grottes dans nos Provinces, Brussels, A. Bieleveld, 1927; Auguste- Joseph de Reume, Les vierges miraculeuses de la Belgique. Histoire des sanctuaires où elles sont vénérées. Légendes, pèlerinage, confrérie, bibliographie, Tournai, Casterman, 1878; P. Fr. Stephanus Schoutens, Maria’s Brabant of beschrijving van de Wonderbeelden en merkweerdige Bedevaartplaatsen van Onze- Lieve- Vrouw in Brabant, Sint- Truiden, Schouberechts- Vanwest, 1878.

12. In a list of 120 Marian shrines, we have selected 49 stories of sanctuaries developed around a miraculous image. Of these, 29 are listed in Wichmans’ Brabantia Mariana or other 17th century publications. The editions of miracle books quoted in the following notes were retrieved from Karen L. Bowen, Marian Pilgrimage sites in Brabant. A Bibliography of Books printed between 1600-1850, Louvain, Peeters (“Miscellanea Neerlandica”, XXXVII), 2008.

13. Besides A. Delfosse, La “Protectrice du Païs- Bas”, see Jeffrey Schrader, La Virgen de Atocha. Los Austrias y las imágenes milagrosas, Madrid, Ayuntamiento de Madrid, 2006; Javier Portus Pérez, El culto a la Virgen en Madrid durante la Edad Moderna, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid (“Biblioteca básica madrileña”, 17), 2000; Bruno Maes, Le roi, la vierge et la nation : pèlerinages et identité nationale entre guerre de Cent Ans et Révolution, Paris, Publisud (« La France au fi l des siècles »), 2003; Franz Matsche, “Gegenreformatorische Architekturpolitik: Casa-Santa-Kopien und Harbsburger Loreto-Kult nach 1620”, Jarhbuch für Volkskunde, 1, 1978, p. 81-118


THREE TYPES OF ACCOUNTS

In order to make the historical accounts of miracle- working

statues available for further analysis, they are classifi ed according to

how they relate miraculous events in the statue’s history to both the

place of its original invention and the circumstances of its eventual

worship. This distinction establishes three types of accounts that

vary from histories that identify a miraculous event as the origin

of a particular building, to narratives where the statue itself is the

primary agent of miracles. In what follows, we provide a brief

characterization and illustration of the three types, and conclude

with a range of hybrids.

In the fi rst type of accounts, a miraculous foundation is at

the center: a divine intervention establishes a shrine. This type

encompasses several stories according to which a thread of divine

origin designates the place of worship and traces the building plan

and proportions. The thread forms the material manifestation of

Mary’s will to build a shrine in a particular place, often after it had

been initiated by human builders according to a different design or at

another location. The best- known example of this type is Our Lady

of Laken, north of Brussels, where Mary would demolish the work

of the builders until they follow her instructions: the idiosyncratic,

southern- oriented plan of the church, laid out with a thread (fi g. 1).14

Human actors originally decided to found a place of worship, but

the intervention of the Virgin during the construction initiates the

miraculous story. Similarly, in the case of Our Lady of Alsemberg,

the 17th century account by Lucas Van Lathem relates how, in the

14. Quentin Hennin, Origine de l’église miraculeuse de Lacq. Trophée de la religion catholique, après la défaite des infi delles dans les Pais- Bas. Par l’empereur Arnulphe Roy de Bavière l’an 895. Erigée à la Reine du ciel par deux vierges, sœurs de Hugue, duc de Germanie et de Loraine, enseveli au Lacq sous la ruine des Normans, Brussels, Nicolas Stryckwant, n. d.. Approved in 1694, Hennin’s account follows several publications recalling the story of the church of Laken: Laurentius Van Beneden, Historie vande kercke van Christus gewydt, beelt, draet, ende machtighe wercken vande soete Moeder Godts Maria te Laken, by Brussel. Met een blinckende gouden keten des lofs Maria, Brussels, Huybrecht Anthoon, 1624, also translated in Spanish; Joannes Anthonius À Gurnez, Laca Bruxellens suburbanum cultu ac prodigiis Deiparae, a Normannorum temporibus, id est, ante omnia Parthenijs aedibus & iconibus miraculosis in Belgio loca clara, celebris, novo studio illustrate, Brussels, Godfridum Schovartium, 1647.


course of the 13th century, a divine thread appeared at every stage of

the building process.15

Miraculous foundations are not confi ned to churches designed

with a thread. Histories of the origins of the cult of Basse- Wavre16

(fi g. 2) relate how, in 1050, the manifestation of “celestial hummings,

and angelic music, married to suprahuman instruments”17 in a marsh

inspired the faithful to erect a chapel on a nearby hill, since the site

of the apparitions was deemed unfi t for construction. In a chain of

events similar to Laken, each night the Virgin and angels undid

the work of the day and rebuilt it in the marshy valley. In these

cases, devotion eventually accrued around one or more statues of

the Virgin. They were often credited with miracles but had no direct

bearing on the origin story.

A second type of accounts encompasses statues with a historical

pedigree. The statue derives its importance from its lineage and

the royal or other patronage it attracted. An important set of such

stories concerns statues gifted by St Elizabeth of Hungary and her

descendants over the course of the 13th century. As the widow of

Louis, Landgrave of Thuringia, Elizabeth dedicated her life and

goods to the assistance of the poor.18 The miracle- working statues

associated with her draw their importance from the venerability

15. Lucas Van Lathem, Historie der mirakuleuse Kercke van onse L. Vrouwe tot Alsenberghe; Ghesticht door de H. Elizabeth. Vermeerdert door Joannes den derde Hertogh van Brabandt. Volbouwt door d’in- ghesetene van Alsenberghe. By- een vergadert door H. L. V. Lathem, Bach. Form. in de H. Godtheydt, ende P. tot Alsenberghe, Brussels, Guilliam Scheybels, 1643. Several editions of this text, published in the late 17th or 18th century, are preserved in both French and Dutch. We used the following edition: Lucas Van Lathem, Histoire de la devote et miraculeuse eglise de N. Dame d’Alsemberghe : Batie par S. Elizabeth, Fille du Roi de Hongrie, augmentée par Jean III. Duc de Brabant & depuis achevée, de bâtir par les habitans dudit Alsemberg, Brussels, Jean van Vlaenderen, n. d. [approved in 1643], here p. 11, 15, 19, 20-21.

16. L’arche d’Alliance ou l’Histoire de Notre- Dame de la Basse Wavre; dict Nostre Dame de Payx et Concord, n. p. n. d. [approved in 1641], p. 8-17. The foundation story of Basse- Wavre probably dates from the late 15th century. For the books relating the story of Our Lady of Basse- Wavre, see Basse- Wavre (1628-1978). 350e anniversaire de la donation de la châsse par l’archevêque de Malines Jacques Boonen en 1628, Wavre, Cercle Historique et Archéologique de Wavre et de la Région, 1978, p. 17-22.

17. L’arche d’Alliance, p. 9.18. Justus Lipsius, La Nostre Dame de Hau, ses bienfaicts, et miracles

fi delement recueillis & arrengez en bel ordre, trans. M. Louys du Gardin de Mortaigne, Brussels, Hubert Anthoine Velpius, 1643, p. 5-11.


of the holy donor. The statue of Our Lady of Halle belongs to

this category, as it was gifted by Machtilde, the sister- in- law of

Elizabeth’s daughter Sophie through the latter’s marriage with

Henri II, Duke of Brabant.19 Marian historiography attributes the

importance of Halle as a Marian pilgrimage site to this gift. Our

Lady of Consolation (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw van Troost) in Vilvoorde

(fi g. 3), too, is traced back to St Elizabeth and Sophie, who offered

the statue to a community of poor women who took care of the

hospital she had founded in Peuthy.20 Marian historiography also

associated St Elizabeth with Our Lady of Alsemberg.21

Besides the statues linked to St Elizabeth and her descendants,

several other miracle- working statues were valued primarily as

gifts from religious and secular individuals. For instance, St Peter’s

Church in Leuven successively kept two miraculous statues offered

by different actors.22 Illustrious patrons often played an important

19. Justus Lipsius, Diva Virgo Hallensis. Benefi cia eius miracula fi de atque ordine descripta, Antwerp, Plantin, Jean Moretus, 1604, has been reprinted, edited and translated several times. In 1651, Claude Maillard (1586-1655) relied on the work by Lipsius to rewrite the history of the sanctuary in French: Claude Maillard, Histoire de Nostre Dame de Hale. Divisée en trois parties. La première de la Ville, de l’Image & de l’Eglise. La seconde des merveilles et miracles. La troisième des honneurs deferez à noste Dame de Hale, Brussels, Hubert Antoine Velpius, 1651.

20. J. Compaignom, Histoire de l’image admirable de Nostre Dame de Consolation, Reverée dans l’Eglise du Monastère des Religieuses Carmélites de Vilvorde, Brussels, Guillaume Scheybels, 1648; K. L. Bowen, Marian Pilgrimage sites, p. 307-311, mentions several editions of a story of ‘Onze- Lieve- Vrouw van Vilvoorde’ in Dutch, for example: Kort begryp der historie Van het oud vermaerd Mirakuleus Beeld van O.L.Vrouwe van Troost, Rustende tot Vilvoorden in de Kerke der Carmeliterssen (sic), Joannes van Vlaenderen, n. p. n. d. These editions are undated but were published by printers active between the early 18th and late 19th century.

21. L. Van Laethem, Histoire de la devote, p. 28-32.22. The story of the Our Lady of Leuven cult was written in Latin by Bernard

Heymbach in 1655: Bernard Heymbach, Diva Lovaniensis seu mira benefi cia a dei parente Lovanii ad aram sibi sacram in aede D. Petri Mortalibus Impetrata. Libri tres, Louvain, Cypriani Coenestenij, 1655. In 1757, M. G. Van der Buecken published Wonderen bystandt van de alder- heylighste maeght ende moeder Godts Maria, bethoont aen haere getrouwe dienaers in de vermaerde collegiaele ende parochiaele hooftkercke van den heyligen Petrus binnen Loven, hooft- stadt van Brabant, Louvain, Théodore C. J. De Zangre, 1757. An unpublished manuscript of Justus Lipsius has been discovered and published by J. de Landtsheer: Justus Lipsius, Diva Virgo Lovaniensis, trans. J. de Landtsheer, Wildert, De Carbolineum Press, 1999. On this work, see Jeanine De Landtsheer, “Iusti Lipsi Diva Lovaniensis: an unknown treatise on Louvain’s Sedes Sapientiae”, Revue d’Histoire Ecclésiastique, 92, 1997, p. 135-142.


role in the distribution of copies of statues. For example, the

Archdukes used copies of the Scherpenheuvel Virgin (Onze- Lieve-

Vrouw van Scherpenheuvel / Notre- Dame de Montaigu) as prized

diplomatic gifts, and they can be found in Villers- La- Ville, Izegem,

Antwerp and in the church of the Jesuits at Tournon in France as

well as across Europe.23

In the third type of account, by far the most common,24 the statue

itself is involved in some miraculous event, which may occur at

different stages of the history of the shrine.

First, a divine intervention determines the place of worship of

an available image. This can occur according to two scenarios. In

a fi rst type of scenario, an apparition of the Virgin Mary indicates

where she wishes to be honored. Our Lady of Grace (Onze- Lieve-

Vrouw van Gratie) in Scheutveld, near Anderlecht, is a good

example, as well as Our Lady of the Zavel (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw

van de Zavel/Notre- Dame du Sablon).25 In this particular case, the

Virgin appeared to a woman, Beatrix Soetkens, whom she ordered

to restore a neglected statue in a church of Antwerp, and then to

take it by boat to Brussels, where the Duke Jan II installed it in

the Zavel church.26 In a second type, the statue itself assumes an

active role in identifying the place of worship, for instance by

immobilizing a ship or a coach. Examples include Our Lady of

Zemst, Hanswijk, Aarschot, Merchtem and Berendrecht.27 It also

23. Luc Duerloo and Marc Wingens, Scherpenheuvel. Het Jeruzalem van de Lage Landen, Louvain, Davidsfonds, 2002, p. 58-59.

24. Of the 49 selected cases, 31 belong to the third type, 6 to the fi rst and 9 to the second type. Three accounts combine two types.

25. On Scheutveld, see S. Schoutens, Maria’s Brabant, p. 24-25.26. Jean Magnus, Histoire de l’Image de N. Dame du Sablon. Arrivée

miraculeusement de la ville d’Anvers en la Roiale Cité de Brusselles l’An 1348, Brussels, Jacques vande Velde, n. d., p. 5-19; A. Wichmans, Brabantia Mariana, p. 290-293; S. Schoutens, Maria’s Brabant, p. 38-39.

27. On Zemst, see: Historie van Onze Lieve Vrouw in het Hammeken onder het dorp Sempse. Opnieuw opgesteld en vermeerdert met merkweerdige byzonderheden, Mechelen, P. J. Hanicq, 1828; On Hanswijk, see: Petrus Croon, Historie van Onse Lieve Vrauwe van Hanswyck door haer audt ende Mirakuleus Beeldt eertydts buyten nu binnen Mechelen Besonderlijck Vermaert, Mechelen, Gysbrecht Lints, 1670 and Petrus Siré, Hanswyck ende het wonderdadigh beeldt van de alder- heylighste Maget ende Moeder Godts Maria Eertys buyten, nu binnen Mechelen, Dendermonde, Jacobus Ducaju, 1738; On Aarschot, see: Kort Begryp van de stadt Aerschot, synde een Hertoghdom in Brabant, Haere opkomste, met eene korte beschryvinge van het Beeldt der Moeder Godts, aldaer in de Collegiaele Kercke Miraculeuselyck rustende (…), Brussels, J. B. Jorez, 1766; On


occurs that the statue miraculously returns to the place where it

was initially found to indicate where it wishes to be worshipped,

regardless of how insalubrious, unworthy or unsafe the place may

be. In the miraculous history of Our Lady in the Field (Onze- Lieve-

Vrouw van den Akker) in Minderhout, the statue returns fi ve times

to the place of its discovery.28

Apart from these instances where a statue directs worshippers

to a particular place, many miraculous founding stories associate

statues with trees. Either the miraculous appearance of the statue in

a tree instigates the cult, as in Duffel (fi g. 4), or a statue attached to

a tree at an unknown moment in history suddenly starts to perform

miracles. In Kortenaken, for example, a statue, Our Lady of the

Source (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw Ter Bron), hung in a small cabinet on a

tree. It derived its name from the creek next to it. Devotees suffering

from fever prayed here to the Virgin to be cured from their illness.

In a later phase, a chapel was constructed to shelter the worshippers

from the elements.29 In a third variety of accounts, a statue of the

Virgin (miraculously found or bought) performs miracles once it is

placed in a tree. Besides Scheutveld, Kortenbos, Braine- le- Château,

Retie, Zoutleeuw, and Averbode, this is the case in Jezus- Eik, where

a man, Petrus van den Kerkhove, bought a statue with the intention

of hanging it in a tree. Only three years later his son fulfi lled the

vow, and placed the statue in a small cabinet attached to the “Jesus

Oak”.30

Finally, some shrines housing a miracle- working statue were built

to fulfi ll a pledge, often after a miraculous intervention of the Virgin

in battle; in these instances, the pledge and the miracle it engenders

precede and, to some extent, instigate the cult. Our Lady on a Mule

(Onze- Lieve- Vrouw ter Muylen) in Liedekerke is a statue of Mary

seated on a mule, commissioned in fulfi llment of a pledge made

Merchtem, see: S. Schoutens, Maria’s Brabant, p. 116-119; On Berendrecht, see: G. Geerts, “De kapel van de Hagelberg te Berendrecht, 1732–1982”, Polderheem. Heemkundige Kring van de Antwerpse Polder, 17, 3, 1982, p. 9-86.

28. J. Heylaerts, Beknopte geschiedenis van Onze- Lieve- Vrouw van Minderhout, Hoogstraten, Van Hoof- Roelans, 1904; H. Maho, La Belgique à Marie, p. 368-369. We have not been able to trace earlier sources for this story.

29. S. Schoutens, Maria’s Brabant, p. 71.30. Bartholomeus Seghers, Den pelgrim van Sonien- Bosch naer de H. Maghet

Maria van Jesukens- Eyk, inhoudende den oorsprong, voortgang en mirakeleuse teekenen aldaer geschied, Brussels, De Wageneer, n. d.


by the bannerets of Liedekerke when they were entrapped during

the 13th century crusades.31 Similar stories are associated with the

statues of Ittre, Wever, Ukkel, Calevoet and Averbode.

Defi ning the three types of accounts and identifying the different

categories within each type helps to structure the large number

of tales. Moreover, the distinctions also reveal the complexity of

many cases. In several instances, different stories of how the statue

emerged in the world are available. For example, Van Heurck

gives two different accounts on how Our Lady of the Hagelberg in

Berendrecht became the center of a new place of worship. In the fi rst

version the statue was found in a hedge and brought to the parish

church. The next morning, the statue had returned to its original

place in the hedge, indicating that Mary wanted to be worshipped

in this humble place. As a consequence, it was decided to build a

chapel there. In the second version, the statue was found by the

mayor of Santvliet when he passed a hedge on horseback. His horse

refused to go any further; when he dismounted, he saw the statue in

the hedge and decided to have a chapel built on that very location.32

Conversely, several accounts incorporate characteristics of more

than one type of narrative. For instance, the foundation tale of Our

Lady of Alsemberg centers on interventions of a miraculous thread

during every stage of the church’s construction, but the creation

of the sanctuary and the donation of the statue are attributed to

St Elizabeth (fi g. 5).33 The story begins with the apparition of an

angel to the saint who exhorts her to build a church in honor of the

Virgin in the Duchy of Brabant. Elizabeth addresses this request

to Duchess Marie, the wife of Henry II, who would marry Sophie,

Elizabeth’s daughter, after Marie’s death. The angel appears a

second time to allay Elizabeth’s doubts about the location of the

church. He sends her to Alsemberg hill where she is to fi nd a

blooming fl ax fi eld, ripened in one night, where the plan is traced

31. Kort begryp van Onse Lieve Vrouwe Ter Muylen te Liedekerke, Muylen, 1758; Bertholdus a S. Josepho, Een kort verhael vanden oorspronck, fvndatie ende ovderdom, van het clooster onser L. Vrovwe ter Mvylen Ende hoe een nieuwe heremitagie ghesticht wort ter eeren vanden H. Ioseph, Ghent, Anthone Sersanders, 1653, p. 22-23.

32. Emile Henri Van Heurck, Les drapelets de pèlerinage en Belgique et dans les pays voisins: contribution à l’iconographie et à l’histoire des pèlerinages, Antwerp, Buschmann, 1922, p. 46-48.

33. L. Van Lathem, Histoire de la devote, p. 12-22.


by means of the miraculous thread. The thread further guides the

building works of St Elizabeth and her successors. In this case, the

hybridity of the story helps to explain the fact that two essentially

unrelated miraculous objects – the church building and the statue –

together establish a place of worship in Brabant.

Similarly, important personalities occasionally intervene in his-

tories of statues marked by miraculous events. In some cases, this

intervention occurs in a ‘pre- history’ of the image, a miraculous

story that precedes the actual development of the cult, as it is the

case for Our Lady of Good Success in Brussels. For six centuries

the statue had been revered in Aberdeen, where it accomplished

several miracles. When Protestantism reached Scotland, the image

was miraculously preserved against iconoclasts. In his booklet on

the cult, Bartholomaeus De Los Rios argues that the decline of

the ‘true faith’ in Scotland justifi ed the transfer of the miraculous

image – and its worship – to a place where Catholic faith was still

intact: the Southern Low Countries.34 Thanks to the intervention of

an agent of the King of Spain, the statue was sent to De Los Rios

and Archduchess Isabella, in Dunkirk, in 1625. Isabella moved

it to her chapel in Brussels before De Los Rios suggested her to

pledge it to the new church of the Augustinians in Brussels. Inside

the Brabant area, Our Lady of ‘s- Hertogenbosch (Onze- Lieve-

Vrouw van ‘s- Hertogenbosch/Notre- Dame de Bois- le- Duc) was

protected against protestant attacks for two centuries: venerated

since 1381, the statue was transferred to Brussels after the siege of

‘s- Hertogenbosch in 1629. Received by the Archduchess Isabella,

the miraculous image was displayed in St Gaugericus’ Church,

before Cardinal- Infante Ferdinand of Austria brought it back to St

James’ Church on the Coudenberg, next to the palace.35 The statue

was returned to ‘s- Hertogenbosch in 1853. In one case, a pledge and

34. Bartholomaeus De Los Rios y Alarcón, Histoire de l’image miraculeuse de la Très- Sainte Vierge Marie, sous le titre de Notre- Dame de Bon Succes, Tournai, Louis Varle, 1726, p. 1-31.

35. Thomas Bernarts, Doux tronc de vigne distillant les miracles de N. Dame la Mere de Douceur premierement exposée à Bois- le- Ducq, Dans l’Eglise Cathedrale de Saint Jean, & maintenant refugée à Bruxelles en l’Eglise des Chanoines Reguliers de Coberges, Brussels, Hubert Anthoine Velpius, 1665, p. 6-17, 243-254. See also Jean- Jacques Courvoisier, Le sacré bocage de Nostre Dame de Bois le Duc où par huict arbres & plantes singulières, sont représentées en huict divines paralleles, les grandeurs & les merveilles de la tres- saincte Vierge Marie, Mere de Dieu, Brussels, Godefroy Schoevarts, 1645; A. Wichmans, Brabantia Mariana, p. 369-383.


subsequent miraculous intervention was said to precede the gift of a

statue. Caught in a tempest in the Golf of Lyon, a Roman passenger

prayed to Our Lady Stella Maris (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw Ster der Zee)

for help and promised to promote her cult. Back in Rome, he com-

missioned a statue, which was given to Pope Urban VIII. Sometime

later, Egide Houtmas, a Friar Minor of Boetendael, expressed the

wish to honor Mary, Queen of Angels, and the pope sent him the

statue in return. Thus, the history casts Our Lady of Angels (Onze-

Lieve- Vrouw ter Engelen) as a votive statue made after a miracu-

lous intervention that acquired a respectable pedigree thanks to the

involvement of the pope.36

HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS AND MATERIAL SURROUNDINGS: GENERAL STRATEGIES

The discussion of the historical accounts already indicates how

they hint at the topographical, spatial and material aspects of the cult

of miracle- working statues: some statues emphatically indicated

their physical attachment to a specifi c locus, while others were

housed in shrines designed by divine intervention. Still other statues

were installed or found in humble surroundings that progressively

transformed into sumptuous places of worship when the statues

started performing miracles. The intervention of prominent patrons

suggests the accretion of ornaments and gifts. In what follows,

we examine in more detail the spatial and material context of the

statues conjured up by the histories in miracle booklets, and relate it

to the architecture and decoration of the shrines themselves in order

to understand if and how the surroundings of the statues refl ect the

historical narratives. If the historical accounts anchor the statues

– objects of divine origin or with divine powers – in time and space,

and inscribe the statues in the history of a particular place and

community, does their material context form part of this process

and if so, how?

This step brings its own methodological challenges. The analysis

of the historical accounts operated on the level of the narrative.

Rather than gleaning historical information about the statues

36. S. Schoutens, Maria’s Brabant, p. 179-184.


and their cult, we attempted to understand how these narratives

explained the presence of a statue in a particular shrine. An enquiry

into the material context of the statues introduces the question of

the historical value of the accounts. As justifi cations of a particular

cult at the time of their publication, the accounts are prone to

referencing either previous material objects whose existence is

often diffi cult to verify, or to casting contemporary material objects

in accordance with the intentions behind the narrative rather than

with historical facts. In other words, narrative and material contexts

entertain various possible relationships, from a straightforward

historical explanation of the present state of a shrine, to a complex

reinterpretation of the shrine in line with the requirements of the

narrative.37 Establishing this relationship is further complicated by

the fact that, while historians of art and architecture have studied

some altars, chapels and churches listed in the accounts, most

have received little attention. Moreover, the immediate material

surroundings of statues such as dresses, exhibition thrones, altars

and church interiors often have undergone mainly undocumented

changes since the 17th century.38 This is also true for the statues

themselves; it is often diffi cult to identify the exact object a historical

account refers to, or to date and identify the statues that are still

in place today. Finally, the particular circumstances surrounding

the history of each shrine stretched the chronological limits of our

inquiry: developments in the material surroundings that occurred

over the course of decades in one case would take several centuries

in others. Still, the developments remained similar, which is why

we have opted to discuss transformations that have taken place well

after the cusp of the 18th century.

With these caveats in mind, we have proceeded to distinguish two

sets of strategies that anchor the statues in time and space. One set

37. An example of this process is discussed in Maarten Delbeke, “Miracle books and religious architecture in the Southern Netherlands. The case of Our Lady of Hanswijk in Mechelen”, The Authority of the Word. Refl ecting on Image and Text in Northern Europe 1400-1700, ed. Walter Melion et al., Leiden, Brill, 2011, p. 559-585.

38. Important studies of these objects include the forthcoming studies of Valerie Herremans and Claire Baizier, as well as Paul Philippot et al., L’architecture religieuse et la sculpture baroques dans les Pays- Bas méridionaux et la principauté de Liège 1600-1770, Sprimont, Mardaga, 2003; Backlit Heaven. Power and Devotion in the Archdiocese Mechelen, ed. Gerard Rooijakkers and Paul Vandenbroeck, Tielt, Lannoo, 2009.


occurs across a wide range of shrines and their histories, regardless

of the type of account. Other strategies, we argue, are specifi c to the

three types of scenarios that we have identifi ed. In what follows, we

offer a brief description of the general strategies and treat the type-

specifi c variety in more detail.

At the most general level, the very publication of the 17th century

accounts we examine here contributes to anchoring the statues in

history. Statues of very diverse pedigrees and provenances are

made part of a history that has the late 16th, early 17th century

as its point of reference. The highly conventional nature of the

accounts reinforces the effect of synchronicity.39 In the wake of

the Beeldenstorm, numerous new statues were discovered and

installed, such as Our Lady of Kortenbos, Minderhout, Zemst or

Duffel. In other cases, newly built churches incorporated existing

Marian cults. The new church of the Augustinians in Brussels,

built by Jacques Franquart between 1620 and 1642, received in

1626 the Scottish image of Our Lady of Good Success.40 Still other

cases vaunted the medieval origins of statues and cult sites of the

Virgin. Mary’s intervention in the construction of the shrines at

Laken and Basse- Wavre goes back to the 9th and 11th centuries,

whereas images in Alsemberg, Halle and Vilvoorde were gifted

in the 13th century by Saint Elizabeth and her descendants. The

statues of Our Lady on the Stake (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw op ‘t

Stocxken) and of Our Lady of Bois- Seigneur- Isaac were said to

have been transferred to Brussels (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw van de

Zavel) and Ittre (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw van Troost en Genade) in the

14th century. In Leuven, in 1442, at the time of the construction

of the new St Peter’s Church, the Sedes sapientiae replaced an

earlier statue.41 Whereas most of these statues eventually received

a church entirely dedicated to them (Laken, Basse- Wavre,

39. On the role of “hagiographical wording” (including testimonies about miracles, stories of the cult origins, prayers, archives, etc.) in the cult of images, see Thomas Golsenne, “Parure et Culte”, La performance des images, ed. Alain Dierkens, Gil Bartholeyns and Thomas Golsenne, Brussels, Éditions de l’université de Bruxelles (“Problèmes d’histoire des religions”, 19), 2009, p. 80-82.

40. P. Philippot et al., L’architecture religieuse, p. 15; B. De Los Rios y Alarçon, Histoire de l’image miraculeuse, p. 14-22.

41. Raymond M. Lemaire et al., Le Patrimoine monumental de la Belgique, 1 : Province de Brabant. Arrondissement de Louvain, Liège, Soledi, 1971, p. 216-221.


Alsemberg, Zavel, etc.), others were housed in a part of a larger

structure (Halle, Ittre, Leuven, etc.).

The 17th century records of these histories formed part of a set of

efforts to promote the cult of the Virgin in the Southern Netherlands

in the aftermath of Protestant attacks. These efforts were supported

by campaigns of construction, restoration and decoration of shrines.

For instance, the Archdukes refurbished the medieval church of Our

Lady of Laken and facilitated its access from the city of Brussels.42

However, interventions in Marian shrines were not confi ned to

archducal or noble patronage, nor to large- scale architecture. In all

cases, the statues are small and simple, and they were progressively

surrounded with protective devices and ornaments. Their body

disappeared under a cone- shaped dress, embroidered and decorated

with necklaces. The statue was placed on a throne or inserted in

a niche, often as part of a monumental altar. Located in the main

choir or in a lateral chapel, the altar is more or less visible and

accessible to believers entering the church, and may form part of

an ensemble with other elements of the church furniture. Figurative

representations, carved or painted, refer to the cult of the Virgin

and her miraculous statue. Both isolated and integrated, masked

and highlighted, the visibility of the statue is modifi ed by these

successive ornamental layers, whose richness and artistry seem to

compensate for the inconspicuousness of the statue itself.

In some rare cases, these ornamental layers form a unity that was

progressively developed over time. In the Our Lady of Kortenbos

Church (fi g. 6), built from 1641 onwards, the miraculous statue is

placed on a monumental altar. An altarpiece by Gaspar de Crayer

(1662), inserted in the current altar completed in 1710 by Pieter

Scheemaeckers, represents St Norbertus kneeling besides the Virgin,

interceding for the needy crowded around them. The choir is enclosed

42. According to Q. Hennin, Origine de l’église miraculeuse de Lacq, p. 23, the Archdukes commissioned a stained glass window above the main entrance depicting the story, with a dedication dated 1601. According to A. Delfosse, La “Protectrice du Païs- Bas”, p. 117: in 1602, Nicolas Mertens, master glass artist from Brussels, was paid for making a double stained glass window, presenting the Archdukes and the Virgin of Seven Sorrows. On the planning of the access roads around the church, see Krista De Jonge and Annemie De Vos, “Architectuur ten tijde van de aartshertogen: het hof achterna”, Bellissimi ingegni, grandissimo splendore. Studies over de religieuze architectuur in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden tijdens de 17de eeuw, ed. Krista De Jonge, Annemie De Vos and Joris Snaet, Leuven, Universitaire Pers Leuven, 2000, p. 11-42, here p. 36-37. A. Delfosse, La “Protectrice du Païs- Bas”, p. 118-119.


with an oak communion rail (ca. 1724) engraved with the monograms

of the Virgin, which are placed between the coats of arms of both

Stephanus vander Steghen, abbot of Averbode, and the Van Kerckhem

family, lords of the land. The balustrade of the transept is decked out with

panels where inscriptions relate the miraculous healing in Kortenbos,

miracles approved by Jan de Chokier, vicar- general of the Liège

bishopric.43 Along with votive paintings and portraits of Norbertine

saints, hung in the nave, the display of the choir emphasizes the nature

of the cult, supported by different administrators – representatives

from either the bishopric of Liège or the Premonstratensian order –

and benefi ciaries – miraculously healed people among the secular and

religious population.

Yet far more often, rather than commanding a purpose- built

church interior, statues would receive an altar or a throne. This is

the case, for instance, in the Church of Our Lady of Aarschot, built

in the late 14th and early 15th century, where Pieter Scheemaeckers

de Oude realized, in 1684, a set of three lateral altars, dedicated to

the Virgin, the Blessed Sacrament and St Joseph.44 A spectacular

example is the altar designed by Lucas Faydherbe in 1658 for the

Sedes Sapientiae in Leuven.45 In miracle booklets dedicated to Our

Lady of Leuven, this altar is illustrated and described in exceptional

detail (fi g. 7).46 When the statue lacked permanent accommodation,

the accounts emphasize that lavish ephemeral displays were set up.

This is the case of Our Lady of Vilvoorde, which is carried along

by the community of Carmelite nuns seeking shelter from attacks

by heretics in town after town.47 Some texts single out the interior

decorations of churches as a particular attribute of the statue.

43. Suzanne Van Aerschot – Van Haeverbeeck, Bouwen door de eeuwen heen. Inventaris van het cultuurbezit in België. Architectuur, 6n2: Provincie Limburg. Arrondissement Hasselt, Ghent, Snoeck- Ducapi & Zoon, 1981, p. 829-831; Trudo Jan Gerits, Mariale basiliek van Kortenbos, Hasselt, Sint- Quintinus- drukk., 1973, p. 11-14; P. Philippot et. al., L’architecture religieuse, p. 424. The church was built between 1641 and 1648, the transept between 1655 and 1665; the tower was only completed in 1725. The cabin and tree holding the statue were destroyed when the church was built.

44. R. Lemaire, Le patrimoine monumental de la Belgique, 1, p. 14-16; P. Philippot et al., L’architecture religieuse, p. 414-415.

45. M. G. Vander Buecken, Wonderen bystandt, p. 37.46. B. Heymbach, Diva Lovaniensis, p. 5-8; M. G. Vander Buecken, Wonderen

bystandt, p. 40-4247. J. Compaignom, Histoire de l’image admirable, p. 37, 44, 59, 61-62, 78,

101-103, 120-21, 126.


Bartholomeus De Los Rios stressed that Isabella spared nothing

to adorn the new Brussels church of the Augustinians, destined

to receive the statue of Onze- Lieve- Vrouw van Goed Succes. She

decorated the church interior with her own hands “in such a noble

and rich manner, that jewels of great value, shining all over the

place, could be seen with admiration”.48

In numerous texts, terms of ‘brilliance’ do not simply describe

precious elements surrounding the statue, but characterize

manifestations of the divine as well as the devotion of worshippers.

When heretics attacked the monastery of Carmelite nuns in

Vilvoorde, they were halted in their tracks at the view of “another

exceptionally beautiful woman, whiter than lily fl owers, more

gleaming than the sun, decorated and adorned with a marvelous

white cloth”.49 If the ‘whiteness’ of Mary’s apparition stunned the

assailants, the ‘bright’ presentation of the statue seems to play its

part in devotional practices: covered with a white veil or clothed

with a crown and dress of gold,50 the image is taken in procession

or displayed on an altar, “decorated and adorned by lights”.51 In

Brussels, numerous visitors would pay homage to the Vilvoorde

statue “whose sparkling and admirable splendor proceeding from

it stimulated them to greater devotion towards the Virgin”.52 In

Basse- Wavre, the story of the miraculous foundation is punctuated

with ‘sparkles’. The apparition of the Virgin is preceded by celestial

chants, angelic music and sparkling of lights, which seduce the ears

and dazzle the eyes of the witnesses, stirring up tears of contrition

and devotion.53 When the ‘Queen of Heaven’ appeared to the

priests, amidst shining lights, she declared in a clear voice: “Hanc

vallem inhabitabo, quoniam elegi eam” (fi g. 2)54. The iconography

of the statue rehearses these brilliant and resounding components,

48. B. De Los Rios y Alarcón, Histoire de l’image miraculeuse, p. 15: “Elle orna de ses propres mains la S. Image, mais d’une manière si noble et si riche, que l’on voyait avec admiration des joyaux de grands prix y briller de toute part”.

49. J. Compaignom, Histoire de l’image admirable, p. 67-68: “une autre Femme belle par excellence, plus blanche que les fl eurs de lis, plus reluisante que le Soleil, ornée & parée d’un vêtement blanc à merveille”.

50. Ibid., p. 101-102, 106, 120-121.51. Ibid., p. 101-102.52. Ibid., p. 102: “dont l’esclat & splendeur admirable qui en procedoit les

excitoit à plus grande devotion envers la Vierge”.53. L’arche d’Alliance, p. 9-11.54. Ibid, p. 15-16.


for instance in an engraving inserted in a miracle booklet, where the

famous verse is written in a phylactery descending from a radiant

Madonna with Child (fi g. 8). By replacing the actual statue with

this vibrant apparition, hovering above the altar of the holy shrine,

the illustration relates the chapel to its divine origin as well as to its

devotional purpose.

Sparkles of the divine sanctify the otherwise often desolate or

uncultivated places the Virgin elects for her worship. Authors

of miracle books often debate this divine choice, as they seek to

assert the legitimacy of the divine decision with arguments drawn

from local history and biblical texts. Several accounts stress that,

besides trees or fi elds, the Virgin prefers desolate places such as

swamps (Basse- Wavre, Tienen, Laken) or ‘wild and isolated’ sites

(Kortenbos, Welriecken), so that she can display all her power by

transforming them into ‘heaven’.55 When cities in the fl ourishing

Duchy of Brabant such as Halle or Vilvoorde were ‘elected’ to

receive a statue, they too gained much prestige from the sanctity of

their shrines and the benefi ts the Virgin granted them.56

In many cases, the choice of location instigates what could

be termed an ‘anchoring’ of the statue in its place of worship.

This phenomenon is most manifest when a statue or its means

of transportation are immobilized, or when a statue is associated

with natural elements such as trees and sources, rendering them

seemingly age- old and natural.57 Miraculous foundations push this

principle to the extreme, as divine intervention not only dictates

the location but also the design of the sanctuary. In these cases,

the anchoring of the building itself brings out the relative mobility

of the miraculous object. The shrine of Basse- Wavre, for instance,

owes its reputation to the miracles that are accomplished when it

is transferred to Brussels or carried in processions in neighboring

55. For example, Ibid., p. 7, 12-14: situated close to Wavre, one of the “belles villes” of the powerful Brabant, Basse- Wavre is fi rst characterized as a place of brambles and dead waters. Therefore, the destruction and reconstruction of the church are viewed as evidences of God’s will to “changer ce lieu inhabitable en un paradis de délice”.

56. For example J. Lipsius, La Nostre Dame de Hau, p. 17; J. Compaignom, Histoire de l’image admirable, p. 50-51.

57. Alexandra Walsham, The Reformation of the Landscape. Religion, Identity, & Memory in Early Modern Britain & Ireland, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 156-189.


towns and villages.58 But the shrine is only effective if it is returned

to Basse- Wavre. This principle is illustrated by an incident at St

Nicholas’ Church in Brussels: the abbot of Affl ighem tried in vain

to lift the reliquary to bring it to his abbey, but the prior of Basse-

Wavre took it without effort.59

The movement of the image is thus granted only for specifi c

occasions and circumstances. In some cases, this ‘authorized

mobility’ leads to a permanent transfer of a statue from one place to

another. This is the case, for example, with Our Lady of Hanswijk,

a statue that chose its place of worship in the periphery of Mechelen

through immobilization, only to become the protector of the

city once it was moved inside the city walls.60 This transfer was

subsequently ritualized in processions, which helped to represent

and circumscribe the statue’s sphere of action. Processions also

helped to forge a relationship between the statue and a particular

community of worshippers and delineate a ‘sacred space’ visible

to the devotees and even more so to those opposing the church

(fi g. 9).61 The community could consist of the local parish, nobility

or clergy, and in several cases – such as Our Lady of Good Will

(Onze- Lieve- Vrouw van Goede Wil) in Duffel – the statue was the

object of confl icting claims.62

Yet, a statue often only became active once a relationship with

a community was established. The cult at Wolvertem had existed

since 1658, but it began to fl ourish when, at the end of the century,

the local priest De Munck incorporated it in the parish network.63

Noble patronage initiated the cult in Havré, and under the impetus

of the family de Croÿ a cult was established in Aarschot. Antoon

de Croÿ and his wife Margaretha van Lorreinen founded in 1462

a chapter to serve at the church, where the statue of Our Lady of

Aarschot was venerated. According to the accounts of Wichmans,

58. L’arche d’Alliance, p. 14-29, 46-66, 216-223.59. Ibid., p. 29-35.60. M. Delbeke, “Miracle books and religious architecture”, p. 559-585.61. Cf. Infra, p. 20.62. Anneleen Perneel, “Onze- Lieve- Vrouw van Goede Wil te Duffel, een

verhaal als (g)een ander? De impact van het Concilie van Trente op de Zuidelijke Nederlanden in de zeventiende eeuw”, Trajecta, 18, 4, 2009, p. 345-365, here p. 348–353.

63. Jacques ’t Kint, De devotie tot Onze Lieve Vrouw Behoudenis der Kranken en de Boskapel te Wolvertem Drie Eeuwen Geschiedenis 1658-1958, Wolvertem, Troost, 1958, p. 13-16.


De Reume and others, the image belonged to the same network

as the Hanswijk statue and the Virgin venerated at Werchter.64

In Wolvertem, the family Turn and Taxis had their escutcheon

attached above the entrance of the chapel.65 The shrines in question

were often votive chapels, sometimes built before the advent of

a miraculous statue, as happened in Ittre, Liedekerke and Wever.

With regard to the clergy, new religious orders often adopted and

propagated existing cults. In Liedekerke, a Carmelite cloister was

built next to the Marian chapel.66 The Norbertines supported new

cults in Amelgem, Duffel, Jezus- Eik, Minderhout and Retie.67

HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS AND MATERIAL SURROUNDINGS: THREE TYPES

Besides the general strategies, some characteristics of the material

surroundings of miraculous statues seem specifi c to each type of

narrative. Regarding the architecture of the shrines, it appears that

the third type of accounts – where the statue itself is the object

or the agent of founding miracles – often involves small shrines

of local importance, while sanctuaries associated with the fi rst

two types are more often large- scale churches. Their exceptional

importance calls for legitimization, which is found in the alleged

miraculous foundation or the long and prestigious patronage of the

shrine. In these cases, the decoration and iconography reinforced

the anchoring of the statue to the sanctuary already suggested in

the miracle booklets. The other cases, linked to the third type of

accounts, have a particular logic of their own.

Since the miraculous foundation of the church building is at

the center of the fi rst type of account, the building itself acts as

a material witness to its own history. For example, among the

64. A. Wichmans, Brabantia Mariana, Libr. ii, Cap. liv; A.- J. de Reume, Les vierges miraculeuses, p. 267-268.

65. J. ’t Kint, De devotie tot Onze Lieve Vrouw, p. 20.66. Een kort verhael vanden oorspronck, fundatie ende overdom, Van het

Oudt eertijts vermaert Clooster Onser L. Vrouwe ter Muylen, vanden orden der Carmeliten Gelegen inden boschende heerlijckheyt van Liedekercke. Ende hoe op de selve plaetse een nieuwe Heremitagie ghesticht wort ter eeren vanden H. Joseph, Ghent, Anthone Sersanders, 1653, p. 22-30.

67. Frans J. M. Hoppenbrouwers, “Franciscus Augustinus Wichmans (1596-1661). Kanunnik, zielzorger en abt van Tongerlo ten tijde van de vroege Katholieke Reformatie (vervolg)”, Analecta, 71, 1995, p. 96-149, here p. 126.


engravings illustrating the story of Our Lady of Laken, one in

particular summarizes the divine origin of the building. It shows

the thread in a small container, displayed in front of a model of the

church presented by two angels (fi g. 10). Preserved as a relic, this

fi rst miraculous object was also said to relieve pregnant women.68

On the contrary, the origin of the Our Lady statue kept in the

church is not specifi ed in the history. Still, its ritual use fi ts with

the justifi cation of the southern orientation of the church brought

about by the miraculous thread, for both the actions of the statue

and the orientation of the church bear witness to the Virgin’s desire

to protect Brussels. The image was taken in procession to the city

to stop fl oods and droughts.69 This peculiar relationship between

the Virgin and the city was further materialized by means of urban

planning in 1625, when the Archdukes ordered Jacques Franquart

to design a path joining the city gates to the place of worship.70

Contrary to the fi rst type of account, the second type usually does

not focus on the miraculous origin of the church, but on the notion

of the gift: fi rst the donation of the image, then of various gifts or

ex- votos from pilgrims and sovereigns. While some gifts contribute

to building the church, others are artifacts to be placed inside

the chapel. Sumptuous examples of this practice are the statues,

liturgical objects, lamps and dresses surrounding the statue of

Halle, described by Lipsius and depicted in engravings (fi g. 11).71

In his story of Our Lady of Vilvoorde, Compaignom introduces St

Elizabeth’s gift of the images by defi ning the four possible values of

donations: “whether they are made for renowned or saint persons,

or presented to someone of quality or high dignity; whether they are

of great value, or they bring profi t or are of use”.72 The following

chapters intend to prove that the image of ‘Onze- Lieve- Vrouw van

Troost’ perfectly matches these criteria, because of the prestigious

lineage or the moral virtues of the persons related to the donation

(fi g. 3) – St Elizabeth, Princess Sophie, Beguines, then Carmelite

68. Q. Hennin, Origine de l’église miraculeuse de Lacq, p. 80-81.69. Ibid., p. 37-40.70. Ibid., p. 85-88.71. J. Lipsius, La Nostre Dame de Hau, p. 106-117.72. J. Compaignom, Histoire de l’image admirable, p. 34: “s’ils sont faits

pour personnes illustres ou saincte, ou presentez à quelqu’un de qualité ou dignité relevée : s’ils sont de grande valeur, ou portent du profi t & utilité”.


Nuns – as well as the numerous good deeds that happened during

the peregrinations of the precious statue.

Often, the interior decoration of the church serves to visualize the

history and pedigree of the statue, as in the Our Lady of Alsemberg

Church. In the nave, a painted cycle by Antoon Sallaert, from

1645-1650, depicts six moments of the legend, including the call

to St Elizabeth, where two angels offer her the thread and a view of

the elevation of the church (fi g. 5).73 A seventh painting represents

the writers who relayed the miraculous story since the 15th century,

kneeling in front of the Our Lady statue (fi g. 12).74 The painted cycle

thus associates the present aspect of the church with the intentions

of the Virgin, while emphasizing how the written tradition supports

the cult of the image. At the same time, the church building itself is

presented as a guarantee of the veracity of this tradition. According

to Van Lathem, it “is corroborated by very ancient paintings on the

Church’s stained glasses windows, where part of this story can still

be seen”.75 In the absence of written sources about every miracle that

happened in Alsemberg, the church itself is marshaled as a testimony

of the divine interventions, “which the building and the stones of the

church themselves cry out loud”.76 Yet the author also emphasizes

the involvement of generations of sovereigns who contributed to

the construction of the windows and vaults of the church.77 Today,

apart from the “coats of arms” of these princes, mentioned by Van

Lathem, the church keeps a series of portraits of the sovereigns that

contributed to the development of the Alsemberg sanctuary, from

73. Angels are sent to St Elizabeth telling her to build a church; angels bring an elevation of the church to St Elizabeth; St Elizabeth visits Marie’s, Duchess of Brabant; an angel appears to three sisters; the next morning, the sisters fi nd their fl ax fi eld ripe; Duke Jan III reprimanded by the Virgin. See Constant Theys, Geschiedenis van Alsemberg, Brussels, A. Hessens, 1960, p. 393-399.

74. Prior J. Gillemans (vice prior of ‘t Roode- cloister), abbot C. Vranx (abbot of ’t St Peters- cloister, Ghent), priest F. van Rosweide (Jesuit), abbot A. Wichmans (abbot of Tongerlo), and pastor J.B. Van Lathem (pastor of Alsemberg). Van Lathem quoted most of these writers as sources for his account on Our Lady of Alsemberg: see L. Van Lathem, Histoire de la devote, p 11-12.

75. Ibid., p. 10: “se confi rme par de très- anciennes peintures dans les verriers de l’Eglise, où l’on voit encore une partie de cette histoire”.

76. Ibid., p. 32: “ce que le bâtiment & les pierres mêmes de l’Eglise disent à grande voix”.

77. Ibid., p. 24-28: windows were gifted by Antoine of Burgundy (ca. 1395), Philip the Good (ca. 1455) and emperor Maximilian (1514), while Charles the Bold (ca. 1470) and Charles V (1520) have contributed to the vault of the choir.


St Elizabeth to Maria Elizabeth of Austria (fi g. 13).78 The hybridity

of the Alsemberg story, which combines divine agency and human

patronage, is expressed in the interplay between historiographical

text, sacred and secular iconography, and architectural environment.

The accounts of the third type vary considerably. Still, these

stories share a concerted attention for the historical development of

the place of worship, which fi nds its refl ection in a particular building

strategy. The architecture of the shrines of statues described in the

third type of narratives develops according to a fi xed sequence of

at most six stages. The miracle books describe these stages, and

they are often visualized in paintings and other representations.

They can be traced in the building history of the sanctuaries as

well. Just like the narratives, the building stages reveal common

characteristics that are adapted to the specifi city of each case. In

general terms, the sequence corresponds with a process of ‘organic

growth’. A selection of cases will illustrate this process.

In more than half of the cases where the statue itself is the miracle-

working object establishing the place of worship, it is initially found

or placed in a tree.79 Consequently, the tree is the fi rst material

context of the statue. Often the statue is sheltered and secured to

the tree by means of a little wooden cabinet or an expanded cavity.

Sometimes a lantern is installed. The account of Our Lady of

Good Will in Duffel, for example, claims that neighbors enlarged

the cavity in the willow where the statue was found, in order to

protect it from the rain and to light it with a lantern.80 The primitive

accommodation of a statue in a tree is frequently depicted on the

78. Four groups of four paintings, currently preserved in the paneling of the sacristy, represent St Elizabeth, Sophie and Henry II of Brabant, John III of Brabant; Antoine of Burgundy, Philip the Good, Charles the Bold and Mary of Burgundy; Maximilian I, Margaret of Austria, Charles V and Philip II; Archdukes Albert and Isabella, Leopold Wilhelm and Maria Elizabeth of Austria. Nine of these portraits (7th to 15th) would have been painted by Antoon Sallaert before 1657, while the 16th was painted after 1732. See Theys, Geschiedenis, p. 349-352.

79. Ratio based on the number of cases that we have selected, as indicated in the introduction.

80. Philippus Van Hoeswinckel, Onse L.Vrouwe van Duffel dat is den oorspronck, voortganck ende miraculen van haer miraculeus beelt gevonden binnen de baenderye van duffel onder perwez. Den 14. Aug. A° 1637, Antwerp, Martinus Binnaert, 1644, p. 38-39; Norbertus Mattens, Onse L. Vrouwe van Duffel ofte van goeden wil. Dat is de wonderheden van Maria, soo in het doen vinden ende hervinden van haer miraculeus beeldt als in t gunstig uytstorten van wonderbare genesingen tot Duffel, Antwerp, de Weduwe Jacobs, 1717, p. 16.


frontispiece of miracle books (fi g. 4) and pennons. A painting in the

present Church of Our Lady of Jezus- Eik depicts the ‘little chapel’

made for the statue: a cabinet resembling a bird box, which is said

to be preserved in the presbytery (fi g. 14).81

When the cult develops, the statue is removed from the tree and

placed on a pillar: a cemented column erected on a square fl oor plan.

The statue is housed in a little cabinet with an open or glazed front

and a small gabled roof. These simple constructions are reminiscent

of the initial tree. This second phase of the scheme is, for instance,

illustrated in the stained glass windows at the Our Lady in the Field

Chapel in Minderhout, where the history of the image is displayed.

Hagelberg chapel in Berendrecht still preserves the original pillar,

dating from 1732 (fi g. 15). The surface of the column base is less

than one square meter (0.86m x 0.86m), while the original pillar

(including the top of the cross crowning the turret) must have been

approximately seven meters high. Today the pillar rises about three

meters above the fl oor level of the choir that was built around the

column.82

In a third building stage, a wooden chapel is built. It no longer

houses only the statue but also shelters worshippers. Made of

wood, these chapels were soon replaced by stone chapels. As a

consequence, this stage is documented only in miracle books and

some paintings and drawings. In the case of Our Lady of Good

Will in Duffel, the wooden chapel, a small construction protecting

both statue and pilgrims, was built immediately after the tree was

adapted to shelter the statue.83 The willow and the statue were

enclosed in the chapel, preserving their original connection. In

Jezus- Eik (fi g. 16) or Wolvertem, too, a wooden chapel was

built.84

The stone chapels that soon replaced the wooden cabins over the

course of the 17th century were often built from bricks. The plan could

be centralized or rectangular, with a single aisle. Centralized plans

encompass cruciform, hexagonal or octagonal schemes. Initially

81. B. Seghers, Den pelgrim van Sonien- Bosch, p. 25-26; Het devote erfgoed van J ezus- Eik, Jezus- Eik, Dorpsraad, 2007, p. 3.

82. G. Geerts, “De kapel van de Hagelberg te Berendrecht”, p. 27.83. N. Mattens, Onse L. Vrouwe van Duffel, p. 17.84. For Jezus- Eik, see B. Seghers, Den pelgrim van Sonien- Bosch, p. 30-31;

For Wolvertem, see S. Schoutens. Maria’s Brabant, p. 204.


Duffel and Minderhout, both supported by the Premonstratensians

(or Norbertines), followed a cruciform plan. In the case of Duffel,

the altar of the fi rst stone chapel was placed on the original spot of

the tree, and it would have contained a piece of the willow where

the statue was found (fi g. 17a).85 Also, in the case of the Our Lady in

the Field in Minderhout, built in 1650, the second chapel was on the

same spot as the fi rst shrine (fi g. 17b).86 The Norbertines built another

centralized chapel in Retie. The Our Lady in the Snow (Onze- Lieve-

Vrouw ter Sneeuw) has an octagonal ground plan and was erected in

1665 to replace the wooden chapel of 1646 (fi g. 17c).87 The octagonal

scheme is also found at the Our Lady of Fever (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw

ter Koorts) in Leuven and at the chapel of the Cistercian abbey in

Villers- la- Ville from 1613.88 The plans for the churches of Our Lady

of Consolation, part of the Carmelite cloister in Vilvoorde, and of

Our Lady of Good Support (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw van Goede Bijstand)

in Brussels are both based on hexagons, still visible in the present

buildings. With the exception of the chapel in Villers- la- Ville, all of

these polygons replaced an earlier chapel.

Yet most of these basic Marian chapels of the third type have

a simple, generic plan: a single rectangular nave abutting a three-

sided apse. The length of the shrines ranges from one to three

bays, and height and total surface vary signifi cantly. The interior

is mostly simple and unadorned. Inside the present Chapel of Our

Lady of the Heinkensberg in Wever, a small stone chapel stands in

the center of the ambulatory. The interior surface is no more than

two square meters. Pennons and devotional images, illustrating the

development of the sanctuary, suggest that this is a remnant of the

fi rst stone chapel built in 1572 (fi g. 18a). In 1966 the decayed chapel

was rebuilt, but the small chapel with the statue was retained and

renovated, with an apparently original simple interior and a new

85. Ph. Van Hoeswinckel, Onse L.Vrouwe van Duffel, p. 40-45; N. Mattens, Onse L. Vrouwe van Duffel, p. 32.

86. J. Heylaerts, Beknopte geschiedenis, p. 18.87. Hilde Kennes and Rita Steyaert, Bouwen door de eeuwen heen. Inventaris

van het cultuurbezit in België. Architectuur, 16n3: Provincie Antwerpen. Arrondissement Turnhout. Kanton Herentals, Turnhout, Brepols, 2001, p. 379.

88. For Leuven, see Nood zoekt troost : de Vleminckx- kapel in de Vlamingenstraat te Leuven en het mirakuleus beeld Onze- Lieve- Vrouw- ter- Koorts, Vaalbeek, Pro arte christiana, p. 4; for Villers- la- Ville, see J. Snaet, “For the Greater Glory of God”, p. 294.


masonry cladding on the exterior.89 Similar freestanding remnants of

small single- nave chapels can be found in Heffen, where the chapel

for Our Lady in the Thorns (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw Ten Doorn) from

1643 stands on a raised terrace to protect it against fl oods (fi g. 18e);

in Amelgem, a two- bayed chapel from 1637 dedicated to Our Lady

of Birth (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw- Geboorte) (fi g. 18f); in Havré, at the

Chapel of Our Lady of Good Will (Notre- Dame de Bon- Vouloir)

dated from 1625; in Oud- Heverlee, where the chapel from 1651

with three bays replaced the old wooden chapel to honor Our Lady

of Heap (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw van Steenbergen) (fi g. 18g); and in

Herentals, with a four- bay chapel built in 1667 for Our Lady in the

Sand (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw in’t Zand).90

For many sanctuaries, the small stone chapel is the last stage

of the development. In other cases, the simple stone chapel was

retained and extended slightly in length. In Zemst, Wolvertem and

Braine- le- Château, there are small chapels that fi t this scheme. They

were erected in 1669 to honor Our Lady in the Bend (Onze- Lieve-

Vrouw in het Hammeken) (fi g. 18b), shortly after 1698 for Our

Lady in the Woods (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw in den Bos) (fi g. 18c) and

probably in 1730 for Our Lady of Mercy (Onze- Lieve- Vrouw van

Barmhartigheid).91 In the case of Berendrecht, in 1734, the chapel

was literally built around the statue and its pillar (fi g. 18d).92

In general, the fi rst four stages in the development of the chapels

succeed each other rapidly – in most cases, over the course of the

17th century. Once the fi rst stone building is erected, the process

generally slows down. Further development of the shrine is dictated

by circumstances such as the popularity of the cult – in some cases,

89. Wever, Heinkensberg, accessed November 27, 2014, http://www.glabbeek.be/website/14- www/24- www/584- www/589- www.html.

90. For Heffen, see Hilde Kennes, Greet Plomteux and Rita Steyaert, Bouwen door de eeuwen heen. Inventaris van het cultuurbezit in België. Architectuur, 13n2: Provincie Antwerpen. Arrondissement Mechelen. Kanton Mechelen, Turnhout, Brepols, 1995, p. 142-143; for Amelgem, see Christiane De Maegd and Suzanne Van Aerschot, Bouwen door de eeuwen heen. Inventaris van het cultuurbezit in België. Architectuur, 2n: Vlaams- Brabant. Halle- Vilvoorde, Gent, Snoeck- Ducaju, 1975, p. 82; for Havré, see Pierre Vanderlinden, La chapelle de Notre- Dame du bon vouloir à Havré- Mons, Mons, n. p., 1982; for Oud- Heverlee, see A.- J. de Reume, Les vierges miraculeuses, p. 423-424; for Herentals, see H. Kennes and R. Steyaert, Bouwen door de eeuwen heen, 16n3, p. 142-143.

91. For Zemst, Wolvertem and Braine- le- Château, see S. Schoutens, Maria’s Brabant, p. 160, 204 and 32.

92. G. Geerts, “De kapel van de Hagelberg te Berendrecht”, p 27.


it is only in the 20th century that a cult is vital enough to requisite

an extended shrine. More often than not, the latter stages are not

described in the miracle booklets.

In some cases, the chapels go through a fi fth stage, when they

are fundamentally transformed to enlarge them. The original stone

chapel becomes the apse or sacristy of the new sanctuary, securing

the attachment of the building to the original site. In most cases,

the extension consists of a widened and enlarged nave, a simple

structure with a gabled roof on a rectangular, single aisled ground

plan placed on the axis of the existing chapel. The pennon of the Our

Lady of the Heinkensberg of Wever clearly illustrates how, in 1900,

the little chapel dating from 1572 was extended with a nave (fi g. 19)

and the original chapel became a miniscule apse (fi g. 18h).93 A

similar extension occurred in Berendrecht as late as 1925, whereas

the façade and the fi rst bay of the chapel of the Hagelberg (1734)

were torn down to make room for a larger one- aisled rectangular

nave. In addition, a sacristy was added (fi g. 18k).94 At an unknown

date, possibly in 1740, a nave was added to the Chapel of Our Lady

of Mercy of Braine- le- Château. Here, the process of organic growth

is articulated in the subsequent addition, in two successive building

phases, of the small, three- sided apse and the larger rectangular

nave.95 The small chapel for Our Lady in the Woods in Wolvertem

from 1695 is an example where the fi rst stone chapel became the

sacristy of the new sanctuary. In this case, the extension, built only

twelve years after the fi rst construction, consists of a single- aisled

rectangular nave with an elongated oval apse (fi g. 18j).96 In contrast,

the sanctuary in Zemst was enlarged in 1699 with the addition of

just one bay to the nave (fi g. 18i).97

93. As mentioned above, this chapel was destroyed and rebuilt in 1966. The schematic plan illustrated here is based on the present chapel with a nave of three bays and an entrance on the short side of the nave opposite the apse. Representations of the original building on pennons and devotional leafl ets suggest that before 1966 the entrance of the church was on the side, between two windows; still, the shape and proportions of the rectangular nave topped with a gable roof must have been comparable with the present construction of three bays.

94. G. Geerts, “De kapel van de Hagelberg te Berendrecht”, p. 31-33. 95. E. H. Van Heurck, Les drapelets de pèlerinage en Belgique, p. 60; H. Maho,

La Belgique à Marie, p. 61.96. Ch. De Maegd and S. Van Aerschot, Bouwen door de eeuwen heen, 2n,

p. 783. 97. Ibid., p. 808.


Similar extensions occur in centralized chapels with a

cruciform ground plan. As described in the miracle book of

Heylaerts, in Minderhout, the nave of the chapel built in 1650

was lengthened already in 1686. Heylaerts emphasizes that the

unsurpassed popularity of the cult necessitated the extension.

The priest, Hieronymus van Diependaal, received permission

from the bishop of Antwerp to extend the chapel by “twenty-

one foot to the west”.98 In 1688, the nave was further extended

and terminated with a new facade (fi g. 17e). The same occurs at

the sanctuary of the Our Lady of Good Will in Duffel. Between

1639 and 1642, four bays were added to the original cruciform

plan inscribed in a square. This operation generated a two-

aisled nave and a new portico marking the entrance (fi g. 17d).99

Centralized chapels on a hexagonal or octagonal ground plan

inscribed in a circle are generally not expanded, as they were

quite large to begin with, except for the Our Lady of Fever in

Leuven, fi nished only in 1705 and raised in height in 1732.100 In

Retie, a rectangular apse and sacristy were added to the octagonal

plan (fi g. 17f).101

Finally, in a sixth stage, a second extension is, in some cases,

realized by building an ambulatory around the fi rst chapel. This is

again illustrated by the Our Lady of the Heinkensberg in Wever

(fi g. 18l). An illustration on a pennon suggests that a three- sided

ambulatory was built around the chapel in 1922 (fi g. 19). This

strategy not only preserves the original chapel, but also maintains

the statue at the center of the church.102 Representations of the

original Marian chapel in Lubbeek, on a pennon and a painting

by François Xavier Joseph Jacquin from 1810, suggest a

similar evolution. The chapel is depicted with a rectangular

nave, with the entrance on the side and an elevated three- sided

ambulatory. If Lubbeek follows the pattern of comparable cases,

98. J. Heylaerts, Beknopte geschiedenis, p. 21-22.99. Hilde Kennes, Rita Steyaert and Suzanne Van Aerschot, Bouwen door

de eeuwen heen. Inventaris van het cultuurbezit in België. Architectuur. 13n4: Provincie Antwerpen. Arrondissement Mechelen. Kantons Duffel, Heist- op- den- Berg, Turnhout, Brepols, 1997, p. 61-63.

100. Nood zoekt troost, p. 4 101. H. Kennes and R. Steyaert, Bouwen door de eeuwen heen, 16n3, p. 379.102. Wever, Heinkensberg, accessed November 27, 2014, http://www.glabbeek.be/

website/14- www/24- www/584- www/589- www.html.


the rectangular nave extended the fi rst chapel, which must have

been built in 1275. The ambulatory probably dates from 1341 and

contains most likely the original chapel.103 The second extension

of the chapel in Minderhout dates from 1691 and consists of

a trilateral apse attached to an arm of the original cross. This

transformation determines the fi nal design of the interior. At the

same time, both a sacristy and confessional were added to the

north side of the building. The sanctuary of the Our Lady in the

Field in Minderhout is exceptional because several volumes were

added to the chapel in 1694, 1696 and 1745, respectively the

portico, a second confessional and a sacristy on the southern side

(fi g. 17g).104

Throughout the six stages, the point of reference is the statue.

The focal point of the original cult remains the physical center of

the sanctuary. In its successive stages, the material surroundings

are almost literally built around the image; in fact, even regardless

of whether the statue is still in its original place, the architecture

contrives to suggest so. The central position of the statue illustrates

the extent to which the devotional practice is anchored to the place

of origin. Besides encapsulating the spot where the statue was

believed to be found or placed, the chapels also retain the memory

of their origin by means of decorative elements. In Minderhout, the

ceiling of the chapel carries fl oral motifs that rehearse the aspect of

the original site, just like the references to the lime tree in Havré,

or the tree sculpted on the altar in Heffen.105 The piece of the oak

kept under the shrine in Jezus- Eik also links back to the myth of

origin.106

103. As a consequence of the French revolution, the entire construction was destroyed in 1816. In 1891 a new chapel with a different design was built on the other side of the road. M. J. Celis and L. Spinnael, Onze Lieve Vrouw van Lubbeek in Brabant, Louvain, Paters Assumptionisten, 1960, p. 18-65.

104. Sibylle De Sadeleer and Greet Plomteux, Bouwen door de eeuwen heen. Inventaris van het cultuurbezit in België. Architectuur. 16n4: Provincie Antwerpen. Arrondissement Turnhout. Kanton Hoogstraten, Turnhout, Brepols, 2002, p. 258-261.

105. For other examples of this practice, see Albert Walzer, “Wallfahrtskirchen mit eingebauten Baum”, Württembergisches Jahrbuch für Volkskunde, 1955, p. 90-116.

106. Het devote erfgoed van Jezus- Eik, p. 20.


MARIAN DEVOTION AND ARCHITECTURE IN THE SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS OF THE COUNTER- REFORMATION

Our analysis of the material surroundings of miracle- working

statues of the Virgin touches upon several themes of the recent

historiography of Counter- Reformation in the Southern Netherlands.

The ubiquity of the shrines, their generic characteristics (both in

terms of their appearance and their historiography), and the often

close association with natural or seemingly age- old phenomena

suggested by their origins or location, all refer to the notion of a

sacred landscape. The network of small chapels acts as a Catholic

seal in the Brabantine hinterland. Yet, if the miracle books discussed

in this article ultimately identify the Virgin or another divine agent

as the author of this seal, they also point towards the range of

human actors who were involved in establishing, promoting and

maintaining a local cult: brotherhoods or neighboring parishes who

often organized the processions of a statue, and the parish priests,

local elites and religious orders who chose (or refused) to foster a

particular cult.

Processions in particular were crucial in the establishment of a

new cult, to propagate an existing one or to attract devotion to an

image.107 They sacralized the bond between the parish church, the

parishioners and the chapel. Many of the smaller chapels are situated

in rural areas, and by walking and carrying the image around, the

processioners sanctifi ed the hinterland, exemplifying the claim of

the Church on ‘sacred space’108 – often in opposition to the local

landlords.109 In Basse- Wavre, annual processions commemorated

the healing miracles that occurred when the shrine was in a

107. In B. De Los Rios y Alarçon, Histoire de l’image miraculeuse, p. 14-20, for instance, the description of the festivities along the defi nitive transfer of Our Lady of Good Success to the Augustinian church, presents them as an integral part of the establishment process of the image in its new place of worship.

108. On this subject, see Sarah Hamilton ant Andrew Spicer, “Defi ning the Holy: the delineation of Sacred Space”, Defi ning the Holy. Sacred Space in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, eds. Andrew Spicer and Sarah Hamilton, Farnham, Ashgate, 2006, p. 1-23.

109. On this subject, see the forthcoming research of Tom Bervoets, “De kerk in het midden? Parochieclerus, lokale elite en de strijd om de controle over de sacrale ruimte op het 18de- eeuwse Brabantse platteland.” Paper presented at the Masterclass: “De Sacrale Ruimte”, organised at KU Leuven, September 9th- 10th 2014.


particular place; from Brussels to the surrounding countryside,

they delineate a space subjected to the power of the Virgin.110 Of

particular importance in this process were brotherhoods – often

identifi ed as important actors in miracle booklets – organizations

that supported and controlled popular devotion. They organized the

processions that progressively substituted individual pilgrimage in

the second half of the 17th century.111

The existence of the shrines as part of a collective religious

practice is also apparent from the emphasis, in the miracle books,

on how the cult of a statue instigates recurring ‘mass gatherings’.

These mass gatherings of devotees – sometimes more than a

thousand a day according to legend – are invoked to justify the

extension of a chapel, even if the new building would not seat

more than a dozen people. This motif is especially present in

the case studies of the third type. The chapels in question are

often quite small and develop according to the generic process

described above. In these cases, sentences like “due to the large

amount of devotees visiting the sacred place every day, the chapel

had to be enlarged” appear to function mainly as a means for a

local patron to legitimize the expansion of a shrine, motivated

by other religious or pious considerations, such as a concern for

their own salvation. This appears to be the case in Wolvertem112

but also in the Our Lady of Good Support in Brussels.113 In these

instances, a fi ssure seems to emerge between local elite that

consciously drew on an existing body of building myths and

historical tropes to justify its undertakings, and a larger audience

of devotees who adopted these myths as a means to identify with

a particular cult.114

110. See L’arche d’Alliance, p. 46-66 and p. 216-223. The miracle booklet emphasizes the miracles that took place during processions with the new shrine from 1628, gifted by the Archbischop J. Boonen after the iconoclasts’ destructions from 1580.

111. Marc Wingens, “De Nederlandse Mariale Bedevaart (ca. 1600 – ca. 1800)”, Trajecta, 1, 2, 1992, p. 180-181.

112. Jacques ’t Kint, De devotie tot Onze Lieve Vrouw, p. 19.113. Jean- François Gaucheret, Historie van de Alderheyligste Maget en

Moeder Gods Maria, Onder den by- naem van Bystant, Geëert in haere puplieke stads- kapelle binnen de princelyke stad Brussel. Met ophelderinge en redeneringe Over het begin des Christi geloofs in Spagnien, en Over het graf van S. Jacob in Gallicien, Brussels, M. J. G. Simon, 1791, p. 36-37.

114. C. Rudolph, “Building- Miracles as Artistic Justifi cation”, p. 409.


The architecture and decorative elements themselves have

a role to play in these processes, as Golsenne explains in his

“Ornaments and Cult”.115 The visual and material apparatus of the

chapel or church appeal to the visitors as faithful subjects when

they approach the awe- inspiring miraculous object of the statue.

A play of mystical ‘hide and seek’ is put in place. The devotional

practice develops according to a sensory dimension: the miraculous

image is seen (e.g. in a niche, on an altar or on a pedestal), touched

(e.g. relics of contact, prints), heard (e.g. singing, music, voice),

even smelled (e.g. in Hoeilaert), but at the same time covered in

a cone- shaped dress. The agency of the image is constructed

through ‘phases of collective belief’, as Golsenne puts it, within

a specifi c historical context.116 The miraculous statues derive their

agency from the context in which they operate.117 When the faithful

no longer recognize themselves as participants of the cult, the

site decays; the cult explains the belief system, not the other way

around.118 In times of religious prosperity or of challenges – like

the 17th century – some sacred places revive and fl ourish. The cult

intensifi es and is propagated by means of the historical layering of

the narratives. The miraculous aspects of the images are inserted

in a teleological legend, which – in our selection of case studies –

becomes meaningful in the context of the 17th century.

Of particular importance in our understanding of this context is the

interplay between the “initiative for the Counter- Reformation from

below” and the guidelines for the reestablishment of the Catholic

faith “from above”.119 The devotional “practices” – described in

115. T. Golsenne, “Parure et Culte”, p. 81.116. Ibid., p. 76-77.117. Hans Belting, Image et Culte. Une Histoire de l’Image avant l’Époque de

l’Art, Transl. Frank Muller, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, 1998, p. 12-13.118. T. Golsenne. “Parure et Culte”, p. 77. S. Schoutens, Maria’s Brabant,

p. 186: “Deze godsvrucht bleef bloeien totdat de Fransche omwenteling de kapel met al hare goederen aansloeg en verkocht. Het beeld nogtans werd gered en verborgen totdat de dagen van vrede voor den godsdienst aanbraken. Dan stelde men het op zijn altaar terug; doch dewijl de bidplaats van alle hare goederen beroofd was, en de inwoners van Calevoet ze niet onderhielden, kon er ook de goddelijke dienst geen plaats meer hebben.”

119. As we determined from the active involvement of the successive Archbishops of Mechelen described in miracle booklets. For research on Matthias Hovius, Archbischop of Mechelen (1596-1620), see Eddy Put and Craig Harline, “Dagboek van een aartsbisschop. Een portretstudie van Matthias Hovius (1542-1620)” Trajecta, 3, 1, 1994, p. 19-33.


detail in texts and illustrations such as the miracle books – refl ect

popular customs but also seem to support the initiatives of the

ecclesiastical authorities. If authors like Judith Pollmann and Peter

Burke saw a dichotomy between processes of Catholic restoration

initiated ‘from below’ and ‘from above’,120 we propose, following

Peter Toebak, to understand the material surroundings of the miracle-

working statues, including the architecture, as a bridge between

this so- called ‘small’ and ‘large tradition’.121 As the miracle books

and material context of the statues suggest, the Marian chapels are

physical traces of processes that involved the variety of groups that

have been identifi ed as actors in the Counter- Reformation in the

Southern Netherlands. At the same time, we hope to have shown

that the discovery, establishment and subsequent worship of the

statues generate a visual and material culture whose principles

and mechanisms are not confi ned to the historical moment of the

17th century.

[email protected] of Architecture and Urban PlanningGhent University – Faculty of Engineering and ArchitectureJozef Plateaustraat 229000 Gent

[email protected]@[email protected]

120. Peter Burke, Volkscultuur in Europa (1500-1800), Amsterdam, Agon, 1990, p. 37-42. Judith Pollmann based her research on diaries and memoires of middle- class urban contemporaries and concluded that the initiative for the Counter- Reformation came primarily ‘from below’. Judith Pollmann, Catholic Identity and the Revolt of the Netherlands 1520-1635, Oxford, Oxford University Press (“The Past & Present Book Series”), 2011.

121. Peter Toebak, “Het kerkelijk-godsdienstige en culturele leven binnen het Noordwestelijke deel van het Hertogdom Brahant (1587-1609). Een typering.” Trajecta, 1, 2, 1992, p. 126.


Fig. 1 : Appearance of the Virgin, St Barbara and St Catherine, to lay out the plan of the church of Laken. Engraving inserted in Quen-tin Hennin, Oorspronk Van de Kercke van Laken ofte d’Eerste zeghen- teekenen der Christene Wapenen, onder den Keyser Arnulphus Coninck van Beyeren, Glorieuselyck over 800 Jaeren in de Nederlanden behaelt, Door de Nederlaege der Noormannen. Op- gerecht ter eeren van d’Alderh-heylighste Moeder Godts Maria in Laken…, Brussels, J. Stryckwant, 1694. Brussels, KBR, Handschriften, G 667 A. (© KBR, Brussels)

Fig. 2 : Frédéric Bouttats junior, The Ark of the Covenant, said Our Lady of Basse- Wavre, of Peace and Concord. Engraving inserted in L’arche d’Alliance ou l’Histoire de Notre- Dame de la Basse Wavre ; dict Nostre Dame de Payx et Concord, Brussels, Jacques van de Velde, 1721 [Approbatio 1641]. Brussels, KBR, Kostbare Werken, III 93.482 A. (© KBR, Brussels)


Fig. 3 : St Elizabeth gives the statue of Our Lady of Vil-voorde to Sophie. Engraving inserted in Sr. I. Compaignom, Histoire de l’image admirable de Nostre Dame de Consola-tion, Reverée dans l’Eglise du Monastère des Religieuses Carmélites de Vilvorde, Brussels, Guillaume Scheybels, 1648. Brussels, KBR, Kostbare Werken, VH 25.511 A. (© KBR, Brussels)

Fig. 4 : Our Lady of Duffel in a tree, worshipped by she-pherds. Engraved title page of Philippus Van Hoeswinckel, Onse L.Vrouwe van Duffel dat is den oorspronck, voortganck ende miraculen van haer mira-culeus beelt gevonden binnen de baenderye van Duffel onder Perwez. Den 14. Aug. A° 1637, Antwerp, Michiel Cnobbaert, 1667. KU Leuven, Centrale Bibliotheek, 7A 4035 1. (© KULeuven, Leuven)


Fig. 5 : Antoon Sallaert, The Virgin send angels to tell St Elisabeth of Hungary to build a church in Brabant, 1645-1650. Alsemberg, Our Lady of Alsemberg Church. (© KIK- IRPA, Brussels, B075390, 1944).

Fig. 6 : Kortenbos, Our Lady of Kortenbos Church, interior view of the nave. (Photography A. Staessen, 2013)


Fig. 7 : Jan- Lucas Faydherbe, Sedes Sapientiae altar, 1658. Leuven, St Peter’s Church (altar destroyed in 1944). Engraving inserted in Bernardus Heymbach, Diva Lovaniensis seu mira benefi cia a dei parente Lovanii ad aram sibi sacram in aede D. Petri Mortalibus Impetrata. Libri tres, Louvain, Cypriani Coenestenij, 1655. Brussels, KBR, Kostbare Werken, VH 27435. (© KBR, Brussels)

Fig. 8 : Antoine Van der Does, Duke of Brabant Godfrey I visits Our Lady of Basse- Wavre. Brussels, KBR, Prentenkabinet, S.III 1487. (© KBR, Brussels)

Engraving also inserted in L’arche d’Alliance ou l’Histoire de Notre- Dame de la Basse Wavre; dict Nostre Dame de Payx et Concord, n.p.n.d. [Approbatio 1641]. Gent, Universiteitsbibliotheek.


Fig. 9 : Pilgrimage pennon of Our Lady of Halle. Brussels, KBR, Prentenkabinet, R/2009/13064. (© KBR, Brussels)

Fig. 10 : The miraculous thread in front of the church of Laken. Engraving inserted in Quentin Hennin, Oorspronk Van de Kercke van Laken ofte d’Eerste zeghen- teekenen der Christene Wapenen, onder den Keyser Arnulphus Coninck van Beyeren, Glorieuselyck over 800 Jaeren in de Nederlanden behaelt, Door de Nederlaege der Noormannen. Op- gerecht ter eeren van d’Alderhheylighste Moeder Godts Maria in Laken… Brussels, J. Stryckwant, 1694. Brussels, KBR, Handschriften, G 667 A.

(© KBR, Brussels)


Fig. 11 : Cornelius Galle, Our Lady of Halle Chapel and its main ornaments. KBR, Prentenkabinet, S. II 92039. (© KBR, Brussels)

Engraving also inserted in Justus Lipsius, Diva Virgo Hallensis. Benefi cia eius & Miracula fi de atque ordine descripta, Antwerp, J. Moretus, 1605. Gent, Universiteitsbibliotheek.

Fig. 12 : Antoon Sallaert, First chroniclers of the church Our Lady of Alsemberg : J. Gillemans, Sub- prior of ‘t Roode- Klooster (1437-1487); C. Vranx, Abbot of St Peter cloister in Ghent (1529-1615); F. van Rosweide, Jesuit (1569-1629); A. Wichmans, Abbot of Tongerloo (1596-1661); J.B. van Lathem, pastor of Alsemberg (1639-1657), 1645-1650. Alsemberg, Our Lady of Alsemberg Church. (© KIK- IRPA, Brussels, B075382, 1944).


Fig. 13 : Alsemberg, Church Our lady of Alsemberg, Sacristy paneling: Archdukes Albert and Isabella, Leopold Wilhelm and Maria Elizabeth of Austria ; St Elisabeth, Sophie, Henry II of Brabant and John III of Brabant, 1657-1732. (© KIK- IRPA, Brussels, B070092, s.d.)

Fig. 14 : Wooden niche, 17th century. 57, 5 x 15 x 21 cm. Overijse, Our Lady of Jezus- Eik Church. (© KIK- IRPA, Brussels, M249871, 1976)


Fig. 15 : Pilgrimage pennon of Our Lady of Berendrecht (O.- L.- V. van de Hagelberg), 1841. Antwerp, Volkskundemuseum, M.F.A.60.108.39. (© KIK- IRPA, Brussels, M170468, 1982)

Fig. 16 : Healing of Dymphna Gillis thanks to Our Lady, 18th century. Overijse, Our Lady of Jezus- Eik Church. (© KIK- IRPA, Brussels, M110937, 1973)


Fig. 17 : Stone chapels with a central plan : a. Duffel (1639-1642) – b. Minderhout (1650) – c. Retie (1665). First extension of stone chapel with a central plan : d. Duffel – e. Minderhout (1688) – f. Retie. Second extension of stone chapels with a central plan : g. Minderhout (1691-1745). (Plans A. Staessen)


Fig. 18 : Stone chapels with a rectangular single- nave plan : a. Wever (1572) – b. Zemst (1669) – c. Wolvertem (1695) – d. Berendrecht (1734) – e. Heffen (1643) – f. Amelgem (1637) – g. Oud- Heverlee (1651). First extension of stone chapels with a rectangular single- nave plan : h. Wever (ca. 1900) – i. Zemst (1699) – j. Wolvertem (1707) – k. Berendrecht (1925). Second extension of stone chapel with a rectangular single- nave plan : l. Wever (ca. 1922). (Plans A. Staessen)


Fig. 19 : Pilgrimage pennon of Our Lady of Wever (O.- L.- V. van den Heinkensberg). KU Leuven, KADOK, KVA155. (© Repro KADOK – KU Leuven, KVA155)

Documents

The architecture of miracle- working statues in the Southern … · histories reframed older legends and myths of origin in a histo-rical discourse.6 They often carried illustrations